BRUSSELS, Belgium, – The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has showcased its digital transformation drive at the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Smart Customs Project Global Event 2026 in Brussels.

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‎The event was held at WCO headquarters from Oct. 29 to 30, and brought together customs administrations, technology experts and stakeholders to discuss the use of new technologies in customs operations and trade facilitation.

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‎Nigeria was represented by Assistant Comptroller Omolara Adedeji.

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‎The opening ceremony featured remarks by WCO Deputy Secretary General Ricardo Trevino Chapa, with keynote addresses by Xueyan Guo, Director General of International Cooperation at China’s General Administration of Customs, and Eduard Hakobyan, Chairman of Armenia’s State Revenue Committee.

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‎A highlight of the event was the launch of the updated WCO Study Report on Disruptive Technologies, which examined key findings and relevance to members. Nigeria, China and Mauritius presented case studies contributed to the report.

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‎Presenting a paper titled “Nigeria Customs Service: The Journey Towards Smart Customs,” Adedeji said the service is moving from manual processes to integrated digital operations under its Modernisation Project.

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‎She said the Unified Customs Management System, known as B’Odogwu, is a key part of the reform, supporting automation, electronic processing, data-driven decision making and collaboration with government agencies and the private sector.

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‎She said smart technology and smart data are the two pillars of Nigeria’s smart customs vision, with technology covering automation and digital platforms, and data focusing on intelligence-led operations, risk management and information sharing.

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‎Adedeji said the service is also investing in staff training to sustain the reforms and highlighted the use of geospatial technology for fleet management, asset management and electronic cargo tracking.

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‎She said the service is moving beyond basic automation to intelligent operations, with focus on artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive analytics, non-intrusive inspection and real-time operational intelligence.